the darkness of the music of the night

So my favorite URBEX lens, the Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8, took a nasty tumble at Beelitz recently, so off it went to the Nikon Service Point in Berlin (and they have to send it to Düsseldorf for service). It could take some time before my baby comes back to me, so in the meanwhile I am playing with my Nikkor 24mm PC-E (tilt/shift). I’ve been wanting an excuse to broaden my repertoire, as it were, and this seems to have been the push I needed. As many photographers know, shooting with a tilt/shift comes with a learning curve, and I have a long way to go! What do I love about this lens so far? The ability to easily shoot Vertorama’s (Vertical Panoramas) using the tilt/shift function (up and down). Also, I love even lines, and this bad boy gives ’em in spades! I also love the ability to shift the lens to bring really kill the depth of field where you want to keep things soft enough to really draw the eye where you want it to go. Look for more tilt/shift work over the coming weeks!

By the way, if you are wondering about the name of this shot, it was inspired by the “Phantom of the Opera”. It’s what popped into my head while I was in the room all alone and hearing creepy sounds (like phantom footsteps) in a place where I knew I was alone!

I’ve really been impressed with your output since you wrote your entry about light. For a while before that you went through a period where many of your images were very dark. I liked them, but have to admit it was sometimes a little tough to see with my middle-aged eyes. Now you’ve brightened up the darks a bit, but still keeping them darker and contrasted with the light streaming in from usually an outside source. Very, very nice.

Hey there, Mark! Thanks for the really thoughtful comment. I must be going through some sort of creative evolution. I am constantly looking to improve my work, and have now started to look at some of the great painters for inspiration, especially when it comes to how they handled light and shadow in their work. Let’s see what where I go with this in the next few weeks.